Posts tagged with: free markets

This morning, Acton Institute President Rev. Robert A. Sirico took some time away from his preparations for Acton University to speak with Jim Engster, host of The Jim Engster Show on WRKF radio in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, discussing how to address the issue of poverty in society, and the approach taken by Pope Francis and the church in general to that and other issues. They also discussed the problems with the ObamaCare model of health-care reform, among other issues. You can listen to the interview using the audio player below.

Much has been said about Pope Francis’ views on economics (in fact, you can read Acton’s Special Feature on this here.) In The Wall Street Journal, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, discusses how the media has skewed Francis’ remarks as endorsing redistribution and denouncing capitalism. Cardinal Dolan says this is unfortunate, given what the pope has actually said. While the pope is clear that we must be generous in all our social activity, he is not denouncing capitalism.

The church believes that prosperity and earthly blessings can be a good thing, gifts from God for our well-being and the common good. It is part of human nature to work and produce, and everyone has the natural right to economic initiative and to enjoy the fruits of their labors. But abundance is for the benefit of all people.

Sam Gregg, Director of Research for Acton, is featured in an interview with the National Catholic Register. The interview ranges from Gregg’s education and career at Acton to how Catholicism and the free markets dovetail.

Trent Beattie questioned Gregg about St. Bernadine of Siena, who defended business and entrepreneurs. Gregg replied:

Most Catholics are unaware of the broad Catholic intellectual and institutional contributions to the development of market economies in general, especially during their early phases in the Middle Ages. Too often, we buy into the “Dark Ages” mythology about this period. So the fact that St. Bernardine of Siena — and many other Franciscans — were among the first to grasp the importance of the entrepreneur as a key catalyst for economic growth, or that they made clear and important distinctions between money-as-sterile and money-as-capital, get missed alongside all the other things that happened in the so-called “Dark Ages.”

I also think that many people have an imaginary understanding of St. Francis and the Franciscan orders that followed in his wake. They weren’t all poor mendicants. Lots of them were very intellectually serious men who lived, worked and often taught in urban centers, and thus experienced what some scholars have called the Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages. They didn’t try to resist it. Rather, they sought to understand it so that they could guide the faithful in the “how” of living a Christian life in the midst of this new world.

Beattie also asked Gregg to comment on common misconceptions that Catholics have about economics.

Acton Institute President and Cofounder Rev. Robert A. Sirico joined host Josh Tolley on The Josh Tolley Show on the GCN Radio Network to discuss the recent meeting at the Vatican between Pope Francis and US President Barack Obama. Sirico speaks about the discrepancy between the White House and Vatican recaps of the meeting and how that reflects the different purposes that the leaders had for the meeting as well as their different approach to dealing with social problems.

If you visited a florist would you immediately walk out if you found out it wasn’t licensed by the state? Would a florist shop still know how to perform their job without a state certificate? In most instances occupational licensing laws serve to protect commercial interests and not the consumer. Far too often these laws work directly against the entrepreneur. Melony Armstrong, who owns “Naturally Speaking,” fought back against the cumbersome and archaic cosmetology licensing laws that tried to prevent her from opening up a braiding and weaving business in Tupelo, Miss. She was barred from opening up her business because she didn’t spend multiple years training in cosmetology schools that would have cost her $10,000.

Small businesses are the backbone of America’s economy and unnecessary licensing laws severely limit the opportunity to start a business or simply find work. It is irrational to require licensing for some professions, and it puts an unfair burden on the poor. It blocks their access to markets, squashes human flourishing, and limits their ability to provide for their family. The fact that some states require professional licenses for certain professions and other states don’t require a license for that same profession, highlight that it has little to do with public safety. Honest Enterprises has produced an excellent video chronicling Melony’s story to fight against damaging and needless regulation and the impact it has had in her community.

Acton’s busy week of media appearances continued last night with Acton President Rev. Robert A. Sirico joining guest host Arthur C. Brooks – president of the American Enterprise Institute – on The Hugh Hewitt Showto discuss Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, and the compatibility of Catholic social teaching with free market capitalism. We’ve embedded the interview for you below, and added the video of Arthur Brooks’ 2012 Acton University plenary address after the jump.

The pope is emphasizing “human solidarity,” Sirico said. “He quoted Benedict by saying that globalization has brought us to be close, to be neighbors, but not to be brothers.” Achieving a sense of fraternity is the goal.